Clinical application of the patient-specific 3D printing production system for brain tumor models for neurosurgery

The usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) printed disease models has been recognized in various medical fields. The aim of this study is to introduce a production platform for patient-specific 3D-printed brain tumor models in clinical practice and to evaluate their effectiveness.

A full cycle platform was created for the clinical application of a production system for a 3D printed brain tumor model (3D printed model). The essential elements included automated segmentation software, cloud-based interactive communication tools, customized brain models with exquisite expression of brain anatomy in transparent material, additional devices for surgical simulation and fast process cycles to meet practical requirements. A simulated clinical benefit validation was performed, with neurosurgeons evaluating the benefit of the 3D printed models in 10 cases. The results showed the significant superiority of the 3D-printed models in surgical planning with regard to the surgical posture (p = 0.0147) and the craniotomy design (p = 0.0072) compared to conventional magnetic resonance images.

Show full article